Open English Translation NUM Chapter 5

5 Then Yahweh told Mosheh (Moses), 2 “Order the Israelis that anyone with a skin disease or a discharge, and anyone who’s ‘unclean’ because they touched a corpse, must be sent outside the camp. 3 Whether they’re male or female, they must be sent outside the camp so that the whole camp doesn’t become ‘unclean’ because I’m living there right amongst them.” 4 So the Israelis did what Yahweh told Mosheh, and sent those people outside the camp.

5 Then Yahweh told Mosheh, 6 “Tell the Israelis that when any man or a woman disobeys God by doing any of the things that humans do when they’re unfaithful towards Yahweh, then that person is guilty 7 and they must confess their disobedience. Then that person must make full reparation to whoever they wronged, along with an extra twenty percent of the cost. 8 However, if reparation to the victim isn’t possible for some reason, then it must be paid to Yahweh via a priest, in addition to the ram that will be offered for that person’s atonement. 9 Any sacred contributions by the Israelis that are presented to a priest will belong to him. 10 Each person’s sacred contributions will be their own, but anything given to a priest will belong to him.”

11 Then Yahweh told Mosheh, 12 “Tell the Israelis that if any man’s wife has an affair and is unfaithful towards him, 13 when another man secretly has sex with her, then she becomes ‘unclean’, even though there’s no witness against her and she wasn’t caught. 14 If the husband becomes suspicious, whether or not she’s actually become ‘unclean’, 15 then he should take her to a priest. He must also bring an offering on her behalf: two litres of barley flour. It must not have any oil or spices mixed into it because it’s a grain offering for suspicion—for determining if unfaithfulness has occurred.

16 Then the priest must lead her forward and stand her in front of Yahweh. 17 He must fill a pottery jar with sacred water, and then mix some dust from the floor of Yahweh’s residence into the water. 18 Then the priest must stand the woman in front of Yahweh and let her hair down, then he must place the suspicion grain offering on her palm. (It’s a grain offering for jealousy.) The priest must be holding the water of bitterness that brings a curse 19 and tell the woman to make this oath: “If no other man slept with you, and if you didn’t dirty yourself while you’re married, then be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse. 20 But if you have cheated on your husband and become ‘unclean’ and slept with some other guy, there’ll be consequences. 21 Then the priest will make the woman take that curse as an oath, and he’ll tell her, “Yahweh will make your experience a curse and your people will see the results of the oath, when Yahweh gives disease to your genitals and makes your belly swell. 22 This water will invoke the curse to make your belly swell and your genitals shrivel.” Then the woman must say, “Indeed, let it be so.”

23 Then the priest must write those curses on a scroll, then wipe the ink into the water of bitterness. 24 He must make the woman drink that water of bitterness that brings the curse, and it will enter into her. 25 Then he’ll take the grain offering of suspicion from her hand, and hold it up in front of Yahweh, and then take it to the altar. 26 He’ll take some of the grain as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he’ll make the woman drink the water. 27 After she’s drunk it, if she was ‘unclean’ and unfaithful to her husband, the water will carry that curse into her, and her belly will swell and her genitals will get diseased, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 However, if she hadn’t defiled herself and is pure, then she’ll be free and be able to have children.

29 That’s the rule about jealousy when a wife cheats on her husband and defiles herself, 30 or when a husband becomes jealous and suspicious and he stands his wife in front of Yahweh, and the priest applies this ruling to her. 31 Then the husband will be innocent, and that women will bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.